A pledge given that a promise will be fulfilled; a deposit or down payment making fulfilment obligatory. All God's promises are guaranteed in and through Jesus Christ.
Laws relating to guarantees
Promises must be kept
Numbers 30:2 See also Psalm 15:4–5
If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.
The poor must not be oppressed
Exodus 22:26–27 See also Deuteronomy 24:6, Deuteronomy 24:10–12, Deuteronomy 24:17
If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Special laws relating to women
Guarantees could be written or spoken
Examples of guarantees
Judah's pledge to bring Benjamin back
Genesis 43:8–9 See also Genesis 44:32
And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die— neither we, nor you, nor our children. I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.
The people's pledge to keep the law
2 Kings 23:3; 2 Chronicles 34:32
Other examples of guarantees
Job 17:3 Job's need of a pledge; Job 22:6 Eliphaz' accusation against Job; Job 24:3 Job's complaint against the wicked; Esther 8:8 the king's seal; Ezekiel 17:18 Zedekiah's broken pledge; Amos 2:8 the priests taking pledges; Micah 7:20 God's pledge to his people; 1 Peter 3:21 Baptism understood as a pledge
God's promises are guaranteed in Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, the guarantee of salvation for believers
Hebrews 7:22 See also 2 Corinthians 1:18–20
Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
The Holy Spirit, the guarantee of believers' inheritance
2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Ephesians 1:13–14 See also 2 Corinthians 5:5
Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.
And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth — the gospel of your salvation — you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.
Salvation guaranteed to all who believe
Romans 4:16 See also Revelation 7:2–3, Revelation 9:4, Revelation 14:1
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring — not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
The oath of God is unbreakable
Numbers 23:19 See also Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:17–20
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.